System of electrical distribution.



S. FERGUSON. IBM 0F ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION. APPLICATION FILED MAY 16.1908,

SYS

Patented July 7, 1914 2 SHEETS-SEHEN.

S. FERGUSON. SYSTEM 0T ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION, APPLICATION FILED MAY16, 1908.

L. @29?33@ T Patented July 7, 19M. 2 SHEETSnSHEET 2.

SAMUEL FERG'USN, OF SCH'ENECTADY, NEl/V YORK, ASIGNOR TO GENERALELECTRIC y CMPANY, A CGRPORATIN F IIEJV YORK.

Ui'ia'lnal application filed July 13, 1903, Serial No. 165,20l.

SYSTEM' OF ELECTRICAL DSTRIBUTXON.

Specification ot' Letters Pa tent.

Divide-fl ancltliis application filed May 16,

i908. Serial No. 433:35.

lier eaeh in multiple with one or more el Attempts to secure multipleoperation ol vapor reetifii. or lamps have heretofore been unsueeesfulin those instantes .where lne alternating eurrent endsl of the apparatuswere in multiple and the direet eurrent ends alno in multiple. ln sucheases, villen a single reetilier for example is in operation. tl eattempt to throw another recti- .ier in multiple with it causes therectifier already in eireuit to cease operations as Soon as the secondrectifier starts. lnl ac ei'irilanee with my invention I have providedmeans whereby this trouble is done away ivith.

ln one forni or' reetiier to Whieh .my invention is applicable,induetanee (foils are used for storing); and restoring energy, so as tomaintain a Continuons flow of enz-rent in the reetitler and thereforeenable it to operate, and so also as to canse both polarity waves of thealternating current to be rectilied instead ot vvaves et ,one polarit)7only. ln reetiiiers of this character, the indnetanee coils haveheretofore heen made with separate cores. In accordance with one featureof my invention.y a single core for the indnetanee Coils n'iay he usedtherelo'vv seein ingr 'various advantages saueh as economy ofspare,-eeononiy oi material, and so forth.

My invention further comprises certain other details hoth as to theconstruction ot the apparatus and also as to the mode oli eonheetine theSame ineirenit.

The novel features ivhieh l believe. are,

eharaeteristie of my invention l have pointed out with pai-tieniariti/in the appended elaimfi. The. invention itself, howevinj as to itsaetunl eonstrnetion and mode oi operation will he better understood 'byreference to the tollovviiiig description which is to be taken iuonneeiimi vvitlr the aeeompanvving drawings, in ivhleh- Fig-ure l i. :iperspeetive view of a single reetilier eniliodlving some of 'thefeatures of my invei'ition. Fig. 2 is :i seegional vievv of the eut-outformingv a part of the apparatus shown in Fin. l. Fie'. represents asystem ot distribution in vvliii'h n plurality ot' ref'tiliei's areoperated trom a .angle set of inrlz'f'tanie eoiis and are arranged lwiththeir reetilieil eireuits4 as .vell as their alternoting` ein-rentterminals in multiple with each other. Vin'. #1 is a lnoditieation ot'the arrangement of intim-lance eoils :sho-.vn in ln Fig. l the reftitieris shown as mounted on a hase lA Ot slate or other Suitable inaterinland providresd with a perforated me tallie protectingfasnig i2 having aglass cover which trom its nature cannot he clearly shoivn in thedrawings. 'lhe rectilier proper is indicated at 3 and detachahly seeuredhv asl netos-lined clipsl 4, 5 and G to a pivotally-niounted support 7.This support 'i' consists of a conveniently shaped metal plate pivotedat 8 to the hase l and provided with a handle 9 by which it may beroelv'ed abont its pivot.

The individual reetifier7 exceptl as to a eertain feature to hementioned; is not of my invention and therefore requires no elaboratedescription. ln' general the rectifier consists ot a highlvf exhaustedenvelop of Iglass or other suitable material. is suoli as to providepockets in portion thereot' to contain bodies of nierenry l0, ll. and12, While the upper portion of the envelop is fashioned into a somewhathnlhed shape as at 13 havingextending upwardly therefrom a tnhnlarportion 14. VVithi'n the hulh lf3 are located tivo electrodes l5 and 16,either solid or hollow', of artificial graphite or othensnitahleni'aterial. These electrodes are snl'iported in position byglass-incased '.vires l?, 18 connected to leading-in Wires lf) and 20.The graphite electrodes 15 and 16 constitute the two main anodes ofthereetilier and the large body/.of mercury. 1l the cathode. The merei'iryelectrode l2 a starting electrode. It may he maintained permanently ineirenit` or if desired may he automatically' ent out when starts. lf thestarting electrode is to be out the rectifier The shape r the bottom'lout of circuit I may makeuse of the cut-out V'indicated at 21 inFig. 1in which it is shown has carried by the pivoted plate 7. By yinou'ntinthe cut-'out as shown 4its Weight iends sta ility to the pivoted memberof the rectifier whileat the same time its presence in juxtaposition tothe rectifier enables the .abolition of a number'otfiiexible conductorswhich would otherwise be necessary to conzf neet lthe movable member of,the rectifier "with the. cut-out if the latter -vvere secured 'to thefixed base of the apparatus. The variouslbinding-posts serve the usefulpurpose of taking the strain oil1 of the leadingin vvires of therectifiers.

The cut-out shown in Fig. 1 in perspective and in cross-section in Fig.2 is provided, as before mentioned, with the eiwit-- ing coil 21. Thecore of the exciting. coil or i solenoid consists of two parts 22 and23, the rst one fixed but carrying the adjusting vv"'js'crevv 24, andthe lsecond one movable and' Carrying a Contact point 25 coperating withv 1an-adjustable contact point 26.A These two 2,5jchntact`lpoints arenormally held together byiimeans of acompression-spring. 27 which.-urges-apart the two core pieces 22 and 23. A 'lh'e'forcel of thespring'is adjusted by the screw Current is conveyed to themovablmcontact 25 by means` of the flexible con- 4dutbr v28,.4'The'cut-t 1s intended Ato operate -ofnly when the current reaches acertain T predetermined value and will remain open when the current isbelow that value.d In furtherance' of this end an iron ring 29 surroundsthe e'nd f the core 23 when the coni 'tacts 25 and 26 re together., Thecurrent in the ezciting col ltherefore must rise lto. a

from the vattractive iniuence of the iron ring 29- and against theopposing force of the spring'. When' this Withdrawal however has oncetaken place and the core 23 is out of the inuence of the iron ring 29,and within proximity to the other portion 22 of the core, `a relativelysmall amount. of current that the rectifier has started and causes the`starting circuit to close only when 'the our` rent'in the rectifiereither ceases entirely or ed is abnormally small; i l A In connecting upthe rectifier shown in .fr F' 1,.-the two electrodes 15 andl are 'con'vnec ed respectively to leads extending' from a source .of .alternatingcurrent. Across r these lea'dstwo inductance coils lare connect-v` ed inseries and the junction between them.

vconsiderable value before the attraction ofl the solenoid is-sueh 'asto Withdraw'the core connected through a suitable consumption circuitwith the main nierchry electrode or cathode 11. An additional orstarting mercury electrode 12 is connected through a resistance orinduct-ance to one of the alternating current leads. By .causing themercury of the two electrodes 11 and 12 to ovf together and thenseparate, as ,by rocking the rectifier on its support as indicated-inFig. l, acircuit is established which as the Vmercury separates, startsau arc Wliijhvin turn causes arcs to start between the main mercuryelectrode 11 and t-he two upper electrodes l5 and 16. The startingelect-rode 12 having thus servedits function may be cut out of circuitby means of the cuteout 21 if so desired. Inasmuch', however, as the re#sistance in circuit with 'the starting electrede permits only asmallcurrent to flow,

the electrode may remain in circuit Without other disadvantage than theslight loss of energy in the resistance. Y Rectifiers of the characterabove described have heretofore been provldedwlth' separate react-ences,but` as shown in- Fig. 3 these reactances may, -1t` desired, befarrangedwith their windings on the same core. This cere,

which I have indicated at 30, is provided With three parallel llegsconnected by'end pieces. 0n the outer legs are mounted the windings 31and 32 'which are connected "in series With each other across thealternating current supply mains 33 and 34. The con#l nections are suchlthaththe middle leg 35 ot 00 the core forms a return magnetic circuitfor the fluxes developed by` thetwo coils. 4Any number of rectifiers,Withinthe capacity of the inducta-nce coils, may be fed by coperativeconnections to the inductance coils. If thejrectlied current from eachrectifier has aA separatecircuit of its own no special precautions -arenecessary, but iii-it. is desired .thatgt ,e rectiiers should beconnected in multip eon their direct current sides to da common load,then I have iound that 'special precautions must be taken, as will nowbe pointed out. By Way of illustration, Fig. 3 s ows a number ofreetifiers connected in z multiple to the same load.- Thus for example,of the five rectifiersshown, each consists of an exhausted envelop asindicated at 30 tol 40 inclusive,l which envelop is or may be ofsubstantially the same form as that shown y in Fig. AIll and,like thearrangement shown in this ligure, provided with electrodes and'otherwise' of similar' construction. In connecting up t-he rectitiersthe tWo upper 'electrodes, as .orexample L.t1 and 42 of the rectifier.36, may be connected direct-ly to the supply mains 33 and 34. I havefound,how.

ever, that-in case the voltage of the supplyv l main is not of vexactlythe valueto give the desired direct current vvoltage in the rectifiedcircuit, the inductance coils 31 and 32 may- 'perform' .the dualfunction of varying thet voltage on the rectifier nini of storing and of:i switching device i5 which operates, es

will be evident by en inspection of theorem'- ings, 'to shift theconnectione of the conilnc tors 4.3 siniuitaneonzslyclone;'corresponding pointein the wintiiiixgs oi the .indnctei'ice coils31 anni 32 tim-tiret or away. from the tern'iinzils conneei'eil to thennn supply ieads 53 and 534-. 'The connection i. compensator with soit(Hitch of the reciiiier-- ceiini-cteii to the hue Sanne way :is the, rectiiie 'ihe 11min inercliry clectroicoiif (.11. ii oit' the rectiliers isconneet/ni through :i iccnf-miiiiiiioii circuit to :i 5 lend/i6.exteiniingrto toe hint-thin between i u two inihnztnnrc chile il :nini`ihieh het ro i uit but ir on ecirc-i that the recticon nien ioml, ziefor adjusting! tune. to 40 incineivc '1% sind Aitin 'the the other hei.it i, tiers .should supply n i examine that? .rei'iice'eneCi translatingdevices comprised hetwcen the conductors t? nini -l-S, then theconnection ioi each oi: the n'niin mercury electrodes of the rectiticrsinnst be .inznie to-the vlood through Whitt i may term e sitcznlying deVice' which may coneiet of en iinlni'ztance or ay resietnnec. in, Fig'.however, I have represented the rospo remitir s :is proviilcil 40 withstemiyingg lei/ic roneietinp; of rectzinces /i'to respectively, ratherthan Sie(encesv The reectence i9 indicated icr exemple es having en openmagnetic lciri cuit, while the other renctiinces tropievided with coreshaving' cioeeii magnetic circuite.

in Starting into operation the System shown in Fig. S the rectiiiere maylic starten! one after the other. Li. ileccrigritien of thestertd ing oione Will therefore snliice for all. Rc-

erringg niore pertienlnriy to the reeriiier 3h it will be noted ythat:it the hottem portion oi" the enveiop :ire two mercury electrodes 54;

n :mil to correspond respectively to the elecoo troiiefi 11. and l2 inFigi'. l. The electrode 5ft is; the innin el ctrorle from which therectiiieil current is derived o. l connected di rectiy to the circuitincluding the stezniying device 4Q. rihe miclitionel or starting elec-`trf le 55 is connected through e. rcsietfince or indnctance tto one ofthe alternating current .supply leads as `for exemplethe lead 57. instarting the rectifier the switch 58 is thrown eo me to cmn'iect thedirecteurrent circuit of' the rectifier through e starts Similar to a.

hy the y variousA ing resistance to the le-ul t@ extending bai-ek to theinilnetence (toile 3i `21ml $2. lVhen the starting :irc in the rectifierin Sprung by rocking the rectifier, or otherwise bringing 'the mercuryof the two electrodes 54 and 55 into niomentsir'iT contact, the nniinarcs between the electrorleev 511i and the two upper electrodes @il andinnnedntelyY follow and the rectii@ is in operetion. V'Vhen Los is(ione` the switch, may he thrown into the position inclicfited in Fig. 3thereby connecting the rectifier,directly across the circuit of theload. This (iper-tion muy,

however., be .deferred until :ill et the recii'- tiers here beei startedinto operation 'F through their respective storting i'eeietiinces. Inthe case oi the rectiiicrs 3 anni 55) :t common starting reeietnn-ce 30is neerl to tiert bothv rectiiieizzfn if desired7 e single stm-ting;

resistance might he weil ifm' .Limiting the eng tire octroi'rcctiiicrfi, one after the other.

in connection with the description of the reztiiier 3G, 'it hue been:iainneef that-the storting circuit inciiuling the resistance 5S remainsciosctl dn ing tiie'operetion of the rectifier. The cnrrentm t startingcircuit is unidirectional :ii/nii7 inasinmch nf; it flows throngghthe'lomiT not lost. 'ihere is, iiowerfn, a, certain though not considerableioss oi en ijf in the resistance 5G. 'ifo rio away 'with this the cutoutheretofore described may he used. as diagrammnticelly indicated 'forexel'nple in connection 'Witt the rectifier 40. In this case the WintiG1 of the ont-out, which correeponiie to e, 'Winding 21 in Fig. l, isconnected in the i reet-current circuit of thefrec-,tiier and on. cratesto separate the two contacte o2 or S3A in the circuit of the 'stortingeiectroiie These contacts 62 and 53 correspond tothe contacts h5 enti 26Fig. 2 Whiic the starting eiectrodo ofi. in Figx corresponde to the f-the supply meins 33 and 34. 'if it is deleired toi; malte the voltageon the hiis-imrs greater then"thet 'on the supply moins, or in otherworfis to step op the voltage, then the connections indy' be alteredneehown in Fig. 4, which d'ifers :from the. correspondingr portion ofFig. l in that zi portion of each influctance coil, :is et '55 enti 66is `reverseil with respect to the remainder of the ductence coiig whilethe connections to thef Supply meins 3?) and 34 :ire nitide 'so as toinclude evil vthe coils in series. `@Vixen the switch t5 s placed' so asto connect mems endl, the voltage isthe semeon `tile/two sets oit meme.When, however, the

'switch ievtuxnecl so es to` move the yleecls o1'- leus-bers 43 and 44farther from the mein lines 33 and 3e thus inserting one or moie ofthecoil sections 65 and; 66 between the meins and the reetiier circuit, thevoltege on the eetiei will be increased ioov'e 'that sections soinserted, the voltage of eeeh oel ingedded to thet of the source ofsupply.

in the oreffoing deserti tion i lieve eet oftll in detail variousemdlmentswhieh my invention may assume 1n practice. It 1s "to, beunderstood, however, that many verietions thereof may loe mede 'withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, for which reason l do notWish to be limitedto the emot details shown and described.

This cese is e division-o my application, Serial No. 165,201, leri July1311963.

Wha-it I Gleim es new 'and desire to secure lov Letters letent oftheUnited States,

l. The combinetionfof o .ba-seplete or member, e support pivotedthereto, e handle for rocking seid support, and a vapor conelu'toicarried by said support.

2. The combination of e baseplate or member., e. support pivotedthereto, e handle 'for iocking seid support, e vapor conductor oeijriedby said support, end a out-outelso y eerredby seid support'.

of tine-meins eooocling to the number of v vepor conductos.

between the stendarli -frame, the seid pivotal connection permit tilweradial motion of the frame on the sei standeri Y ln aneleotrcel system,sigas orV vvalpn* 'electrical device, a tilting frame in v'which theseid device is mounted, electrodesn.

frame een be tilted in one direction for supplying en excess ofelectrode materiel to one of the electrodes, end in the otlieg dreotionfor ereeting e, conducting stream of trodes.

En Witness whereof', l( have ,hereunto set 'my hand this 115th dey ofMay, 1.908.

SAMUEL FERGUSGN. Witnesses: y

BENJAMIN' B.y HULL, HELEN SWORD.

tending" vfom seid`biedmg posts to seid v5. The combiuetoru with e vaporeleotrio o device, of e frame upon whlchthe semefjis mounted, e'standeid e pivotal connection,` and thobeok of the*- said device, andmeans Whei'eby vthe seid electrode xhabeiial between the two -eleo-v"

